Serving It Right for managers and licensees

Your own certificate

Licensees and managers (staff who supervise the sale or service of liquor) must have Serving It Right. Unlike servers, managers and supervisors can’t rely on another province’s certificate: they need SIR. For a company licensee, the person who needs it depends on the structure:

What you must keep and show

• Staff certificates: each employee’s name, SIR certificate number and expiry date, kept at least six years and shown to an inspector or peace officer on request. For out-of-province certificates, also record the province.
• Incident log: refusals, removals, injuries, fights, emergency calls and illegal acts, kept at least six years.
• Social responsibility poster or tent card: at least one, displayed prominently in the service area.
• An ID-checking area that’s well lit and protected from entertainment noise.
• Capacity controls at each entry point, with a way to count people in and out.

Staff with older or out-of-province certificates

Servers relocating from another province with a valid certificate from a recognized program are exempt until it expires. Since September 15, 2020, servers whose certificates have no expiry date must get Serving It Right. Recertification isn’t legally required before a certificate expires, but you can ask staff to recertify at any time.

What’s at stake

The minimum penalty for serving a minor is a 7-day licence suspension or a $7,000 fine. Offences under the Act carry fines of up to $50,000 for a licensee (and up to 6 months in jail for an individual licensee). Courts have also held establishments liable for harm caused by intoxicated patrons after they left. A written, enforced establishment policy and a complete incident log are your best evidence of due diligence.

Running a special event? Permit holders and managers need Serving It Right at events of 500 or more, and Special Event Server below that. See Special Event Server.